The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for creating a sketch-based eggcrate substructure for manufacturing composite parts, using an automated tool design program.
In conventional tool design systems, tool design engineers spend a great deal of time generating CATIA (by Dassault Systemes) detail geometry (i.e., creating lines, arcs, points, etc.) in designing a LM (Lay-up Mandrel) to produce a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model of their concept. Once the CAD model is created, changing the basic design requires recreating many of the detail CAD elements, generating a need for a KBE (Knowledge-based Engineering) application allowing engineers to iterate designs without regenerating detailed geometry.
Conventional LM KBE applications are restricted to four-sided rectangular tool designs and simple contours. For example, existing applications only allow internal substructure headers at right angles to each other and are usually site specific. Accordingly, a more simplified input design creation process, which is more flexible, is needed. The present invention overcomes those limitations and simplified the input creation process, adding a great deal of design flexibility.